It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,255 to provide a drive unit for a motor vehicle screen wiper, the drive unit comprising a motor, a reduction gearbox having a gearbox body, and a closure plate which is fastened to the gearbox body. This closure plate includes a portion which constitutes an electrical connector, for example in the form of a socket, for receiving the associated wiring of the vehicle (i.e. for receiving a connecting element such as a plug), for the power supply of the wiper drive unit and for supplying control signals to the drive unit. The closure plate includes metallic electrical connecting strips, on which the material (generally a plastics material) of the closure plate is moulded.
The strips are therefore encapsulated in this material, with the ends of the connecting strips projecting from the closure plate. Some of these ends are formed as wiping contacts for making electrical contact with a movable electric contact member of the gearbox, while others are adapted to constitute connecting terminals for the motor, or connecting pins located within the connector. In this way the connecting strips make the electrical connections between the motor, the gearbox and the connector.
Moulding of the material of the closure plate over the connecting strips gives good insulation of the middle part of the connecting strips as regards corrosion and short circuits. However, the moulding, or encapsulating, operation is a somewhat heavy and complex one to carry out in practice. In addition, the connecting strips have a complicated form.